Turkey & Austria summon envoys following Kurdish-Turkish clashes at protests in Vienna

Ankara has strongly criticized Austria’s handling of the protests in Vienna that resulted in clashes between Kurdish and Turkish people last week. The Foreign Ministry in Ankara will invite Austria’s ambassador to inform them of its “concern” over the country’s “harsh” treatment of the Turkish protesters.

Austria’s Foreign Ministry said over the weekend it would also summon Turkey’s ambassador on Monday, but it pledged to find out who was behind the clashes.

The trouble erupted last Wednesday when Turks heckled a Kurdish gathering in Vienna, according to police. Kurdish protests on Thursday and Friday with around 300 people led to clashes with Turkish counter-protesters in which stones and fireworks were thrown, Reuters reported.

“It is completely unacceptable for Turkish conflicts to be carried out on Austrian territory,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters, adding that both sides had attacked the police.